Easy Ice Cream Recipes

Can you imagine, guilt-free ice cream that’s actually good for you?! Yup, that’s what we eat around here… all the time! It’s our favorite treat and very easy to make (compared to pies, cakes, cookies etc.). Here’s a video on how to make it… or read below for the details 🙂

What you need to know… all my flavors are built from a Vanilla ice cream base!

Learn how to make basic vanilla and you can make all the flavors you can think up. The next important thing to know is, you need 100% pure raw cream from healthy cows on pasture…the heavy stuff that floats to the top of raw un-homonognized jersey milk. Unfortunately, you can’t find this stuff in grocery stores, unless you live in CA. You’ll probably have go to a farm or own your own cow to get this creamy gold. In East Texas, I recommend Trimble Dairy in Big Sandy, Texas and Jersey Girls, in Winnsboro Texas.

If you refuse to find a farmer that sells real cream and you have to go to grocery store, look for heavy wiping cream or full cream. Don’t get half and half, you want the ingredients label to say “cream” not “milk” just CREAM. If you’re lucky you may find one that just has cream and a thickener. It’ll be pasteurized, but avoid the ultra-pasturized types. Unfortunately, if you want organic from the store it’ll be ultrapasturized to extend shelf life. You’ll just have to compromise if you buy cream at the store.

Pour cream in a blender. Turn the blender on the lowest setting, keep it on the whole time (try and avoid air bubbles), add the tapioca powder & salt, slowly stream in the maple syrup & honey, drop in the egg yolks separately, pour in vanilla. Blend on low until mixed well. (Optional step – Refrigerate this mixture for a few hours, even better over night. Then put blender back on low for a second to mix before you pour it in the freezer bowl.)

Before you start your ice cream, put a glass bowl (that you will store your ice cream in) and a spatula in the freezer. When making ice cream you’re trying to make ice crystals. The quicker you make these and maintain them the smoother your ice cream will be; instead of icy. The goal is to keep everything really cold until you get it in the freezer; so an ice-cold bowl and spatula will help. The bowl and spatula will chill while you make the ice cream…

I use a 2 quart Cuisinart Ice Cream maker. You must also freeze the Cuisinart bowl 24 hours before you use it. So, once it is frozen take the Cusinart freezer bowl out of the freezer and put it into the maker. Then put the stirring blade inside and the top cover on. Turn it on. Slowly pour in the liquid cream mixture from the blender. If you have the ice cream maker turned on while you pour, you’ll have less sticking to the sides at the end.

Depending on the temperature of your house… it’ll take somewhere around 40 minutes to finish. Set a timer!

It’s done when the top of the ice cream mixture stops moving. You’ll be able to tell when you look at it. You want to take it out when it get’s to it’s thickest point. After that, it will start going the other direction, i.e. melting… because the bowl can’t keep it that thick and rich for long. So, get it out before the melting point.

When the ice cream is ready, quickly get the ice cream out of the maker and into the (now ice-cold) glass bowl with the cold spatula that you put in the freezer earlier. Be careful – if you use a spoon or anything metal you’ll scratch the Cuisinart bowl – rubber is better… ask me how I know. Do this as fast as possible. Don’t get distracted by anything, ignore baby crying, poopy diapers, kids asking for something, the phone, emails etc. Stay focused and do this step quick. You’re trying to maintain all the little ice crystals you created. Put the lid on and put the bowl in your coldest freezer…preferably right where the cold air blows out. Ideally, you’ll wait to eat the ice cream for at least 6 hours, unless you like soft serve. Make the ice cream at least a day before you need it… it needs time to freeze.

CHUNKY MONKEY ICE CREAM

Vanilla ice cream base, use above recipe3/4 Cup of Ripe Organic bananas1 Dark Chocolate Bar3/4 Cup of Walnuts (soaked, dehydrated and toasted). Soak walnuts in water and a bit of vinegar over night. Rinse and dehydrate completely. Then toast in the oven at 300 for 12 minutes. I store these in the freezer after they’re prepared.

Make the above vanilla ice cream first and then add the ingredients for this flavor. After all the vanilla ingredients are in the blender, add the bananas and mix well. With a large knife cut up the chocolate bar into chunks and break up the walnuts into big pieces. Put chocolate and walnut pieces in the freezer to get cold until you need them. Pour blender contents in the ice cream maker. Set the timer for 30 minutes. After it goes off, get the walnuts and chocolate pieces from the freezer and pour into the maker. Set the timer for another 10 minutes.
Continue w/ instruction above for vanilla.

MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM

Vanilla ice cream base, use above recipe1 to 2 teaspoons Spirulina Powder 1 Dark Chocolate Bar put through a cheese grater to get small pieces/shavings.8 to 10 Drops of Peppermint Essential Oil. This stuff is powerful. If you think you want to put more… taste it before you add more. The taste gets stronger as the ice cream settles. If you add too much you’ll wish you didn’t. Less is better until you know how much you like.

Make the above vanilla ice cream first and then add the ingredients for this flavor. Add spirulina powder to the blender and mix well. (Note: the green color will darken later as it turns in the ice cream maker.) After you pour all the liquid in the maker, set your timer for 30 minutes. Then add the dark chocolate pieces/shavings. Set timer for 10 more minutes for the total 40 minute time. Then take it out. Adding the chocolate later on when the ice cream has thickened (rather than sooner when it is more liquid) will help it disperse better and the mixture won’t end up as dark… you’ll see a more even distribution of the green and black ingredients.

BUTTER PECAN ICE CREAM

Vanilla ice cream base, use above recipe3/4 cup of pecans (soaked, dehydrated and toasted). Soakin water and a bit of vinegar over night. Rinse and dehydrate completely. Then toast in the oven at 300 for 12 minutes. I store lots of these in the freezer after they’re prepared to make life easier when I need them. Crush them into large pieces and then put them in the fridge to chill before use.

Make the above vanilla ice cream first and then add the ingredients for this flavor. After you pour all the liquid in the maker, set your timer for 30 minutes. Then add crushed pecans from the fridge (never add hot ingredients!). Set timer for 10 more minutes for the total 40 minute time.

1 Dark Chocolate Bar Melt it in a double boiler with 1/2 Tbs of coconut oil. If you don’t have an official double boiler, you can make one with a sauce pot approximately 1/3 full of water and a glass bowl on top to melt the chocolate/coconut oil in. Once melted allow it to cool to back to room temp before you add it to the ice cream.

1/2 Cup of Organic Peanut Butter. Warm and melt in a double boiler with 1/2 Tbs of coconut oil. Let it cool to room temp before you use it also.

Make the above vanilla ice cream first and then add the ingredients for this flavor. When the vanilla finishes in the maker have your toppings ready and pull out your glass bowl from the freezer. Put a scoop of vanilla in the glass bowl and then swirl in some melted peanut butter and chocolate. Then add more vanilla on top and then more peanut butter and chocolate. Keep layering until ingredients are finished. Then with a knife you can mix it a tiny bit to get more swirls (optional). Get it all in the freezer asap.

STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM

Vanilla ice cream base, use above recipe

2 Cups Frozen whole strawberries (preferably organic, if you can find them). On the stove, pour the frozen strawberries in a sauce pan and reduce them to about 3/4 cup. Then put in the refrigerator to get cold. Reducing them is important, otherwise there’s too much water in your ice cream and you won’t get a nice strawberry flavor. When you buy strawberry ice cream usually it has “natural flavorings”… natural… yeah right! 🙂 So condense your strawberries and you’ll avoid having to add artificial flavorings.

Make the above vanilla ice cream first and then add the ingredients for this flavor. After your vanilla mixture is blended, turn off the blender and mix in the reduced strawberries by hand with a spoon. This will leave some chunks and little pieces of the fruit. It’ll still be close to smooth, but it’s nice to have some texture in strawberry ice cream….but, it’s your call. Follow the normal vanilla making instructions from here.

Follow vanilla ice cream steps and add the coco powder and molasses. Blend well on low. Pour in ice cream maker while it’s on. Set timer for 30 minutes and when it goes off, add the chocolate pieces. Set timer for final 10 minutes. Put in glass bowl (that’s been in the freezer) and spoon mixture out of maker. Freeze at least 6 hours before eating. Unless you like soft serve.

CHOCOCLATE-HAZELNUT ICE CREAM (TASTES JUST LIKE NUTELLA)

Vanilla ice cream base, use above recipe

3/4 Cup of Hazelnuts (soaked, dehydrated and toasted). Soaknuts in water and a bit of vinegar over night. Rinse and dehydrate completely. Then toast the nuts in the oven at 300 for 12 minutes…as described before.

Make the above vanilla ice cream first and then add the ingredients for this flavor. In a food processor, mix up the coco powder and the hazelnuts as smooth as you can get it. If your hazelnuts have husks on them, just try and rub most of it off…this can be a lot of work so I end up leaving most of the husks on. The hazelnut/coco mixture is course, so I ended up adding in a bit of melted butter to make it more creamy/liquid. It’s still a course mixture, but I was trying to get it smooth like Nutella, but couldn’t…let me know if you can figure out how. It’s still incredible as a course mixture. Andrew gave this a thumbs up so you know it’s good!

After you the vanilla base is ready, add the hazelnut/coco mixture to the blender and mix well on low. Then continue with instructions for vanilla.

Sara,
Thanks for the encouragement and sweet words! I’m so glad you’re enjoying our blog! I miss y’all and the Master Gardner’s group. Isabella will be one year old tomorrow. I can’t believe it’s been a year! Having a little one keeps me home and working the farm. Maybe one of these day’s I’ll get out for a meeting 🙂
Thanks for stoping by our blog!
Rashel